[X] My Assistant

[emo samurai]

Let's have a run-down of how each corp would handle it.

Shiawase: I don't see the Big Happy Japanese Family as including a breeding pit.

Renraku: Maybe; it's big on the whole technocratic angle and the supremacy of science to the point that they go beyond science.

Yamatetsu: Possibly because of their transhumanism, but they're not really big on the genetic superiority of much of anybody, so 80% chance of no.

Ares: No, they seem not to want to control their employees to that degree.

NEOnet: If it's anything like Novatech, then it's basically a normal American company, with secretarial pools, mergers, and a lack of a paternalistic, pseudoscientific breeding program.

Wuxing: Too traditional.

S-K: Probably not; even though Lofwyr's big on survival of the fittest, he's more about people proving their fitness than having it shown by a DNA test. He probably values aptitude too much to reduce it down to a string of molecules.

Horizon: From what we know, they're very laissez-faire. No breeding program.

MCT: It's possible, but they seem too pragmatic to care that much.

Aztechnology: Anything's possible with those dudes.

[Kanada Ten]

And with the advent of p'fix chips, marriges might have a new edge. "My wife doesn't listen to me any more." "Well, I think we can fix that." Kinda a new twist on the Stepford Wives... Or mail-order brides. "I really like this meat puppet. How much is it to take her home?"

[emo samurai]

Now THAT would be cyberpunk.

[Snow_Fox]

Coprs would problably encourage inter corp dating. Better that than and R&D manager at renraku sleeping with an advertising exec at Wuxing.

And guys, before she sees it. DLN is full Japanese. Her husband is English so her kids will be mixed but she's "unmixed." Her parents have been cool with her husband but one of her brothers married a girl of Korean extraction and the stories are that it was ugly. The situation, not the sister in law.

[James McMurray]

Did you mean intracorp dating? Intercorp would be between different corporations.

[Unrest]

I don't know about this, there are a few women at my work I wouldn't mind being forced into a relationship with. And if you paying me to do so alls the better. Kind of strange though since dating your coworkers in the United States is generally frowned upon by employers. I can see the racist angle here but really thats not entirely accurate. I'm a full american and have to been to japan several times. They are alot more xenophobic then they are racist and if you look at what outside influence has done to them before, samurai rebellions - hiroshima perhaps?, you can't really blame them.

As a side note about Japanese being misrepresented in media. If you want a good example check out memoirs of a geisha. The japanese movie about japanese culture that doesn't have a single japanese actor on the entire bloody cast.

[eralston]

Dude, there's a reason no one saw that movie...

Anywho, corporate structure in America is anti-inter-personal in general. I find it surprise that people even remember their libidos when they walk through the door. The lack of romantic relationships has more to do with the prevalence of lawsuits in the 90s.

In the 70s, work was a great place to meet women (I hate to reveal the source, but that's the candid revelation of my father who is 1) a jerk 2) a jerk who has had sexual harassment legal action against him post-90s. I would consider it no offense against me to be judgemental of him at this point. I've got more reasons that you to hate him)

[JongWK]

[hyzmarca]

[Oracle]

[eralston]

Well, when you say "you" I suppose you mean "men".

Starting from that assumption, I would say that the 80s whiplash against women in the workplace is an early indicator of the continuing indignation of most american male workers have over nothing.

Overall, you should re-center your paranoia on just generally crazy people who are the only ones likely to bring a non-sexual harassment suit before a judge. Sociopathic tendencies really crosses gender and race lines, uniting us all against people who are just plain idiots.

[hyzmarca]

[eralston]

Wow, you would need some wiz-band mono-sword tech for that kind of cutting; furthermore, you travel expenses would be very high. Did you like pop a boner at that one episode of Next Gen where they went to the paradise semi-nude planet where their only punishment was death?

I don't know, I think if corps could de-sexualize their employers they would do that before supporting equal-sexualizing their employees. The only real edge people have over machines in the economy is creativity, dexterity, and pattern recognition skills.

For instance, if Japanese truly believed in making more children they would go in and the (ready for it?) fuckin' job done right. I'm sure they will still manage to make a profit off the backs of overworked people are immigrants fill the ranks of society. Even if they have to sacrifice a few racist views, the institution can still survive having Chinese workers and its survival is all the institution cares about. That's why they call it a business instead of a community.

[Daddy's Litt...]

The male lead in Memoirs of a Geisha was Ken Watanabe. He is Japanese. It was the 3 main female leads, that were ethnic Chinese.

The only complaints were from China who said the movie (made in the Us, based on a book written by an american man) was an attempt by the Japanese to use Chinese women as sex objects.

[Daddy's Litt...]

[fistandantilus4....]

[Snow_Fox]

The idea behind speed dating is you get 3-5 minutes talking to someone, see if you "click" and then move on. In better run places, you have a score card. "Liked mr 7, didn't like mr 3, mr 5 is geeky" etc. at the end you turn it in to the people running it. Then everyone mingles. You've already broken the ice so can talk freely. the people running it then compare cards and if people match up "Miss 6 likes Mr 3 and Mr 3 said he likes Miss 6" they then let htose people know there's a mutual attraction-assuming they didn't already hook up-because people are supposed to hold off in case they are really pushing on someone who is not interested but just being polite.

[Fire Hawk]

RE: Memoirs of a Geisha

The book is fictional.

There's a non-fiction book called "Geisha, A Life", which is an actual autobiography.

Note: a Geisha is NOT a prostitute, but the actual role is too complex for me to explain the differences right now.

[James McMurray]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geisha

I haven't read it, so don't know how accurate it is.

[Wounded Ronin]

[James McMurray]

How many japanese actresses are out there? If there aren't a lot then Chinese may have been a necessary evil.

[eralston]

Dude, have you ever watched Iron Chef? They have at least one clueless female actress for every episode of the show (they're probably not all clueless, but they all make it a point to smile widely and act glib)

[James McMurray]

I didn't see Geisha. Could a clueless actress pull off the roles?

[Daddy's Litt...]

Wounded, just north of NYC in White Plains there is a big Japanese population. My brothers and I got saturday 'culture" schooling. But there was never a big influx of Japanese to the US the way there were other groups. There are lots of Japanese actresses but many do not speak english enough for the role.

The 2 female leads were ethnically Chinese but both were born in Indonesia. If they were born in the US, most people would say they were 'asian-americans." This is a great example, Wounded, of the racism I mentioned among different asian groups. There was some resistance in Japan, land of the xenophobic bigots, but the women were so good that the film did well.

Michelle Yeoh summed it up by saying they are actresses who play roles. Does anyone in the US question it if the actor playing an Italian was of Irish decent?
Anthony Quinn played 'Zorba the Greek' and he was an irish/mexican mix.

[PBTHHHHT]

Or all the British actors that usually play Julius Caesar...